The Inter-Mountain photo by Edgar Kelley Elkins resident Mike Hawkins sits next to an 8-point buck while making a stop at Middle Mountain Sporting Goods on Monday. Hawkins harvested the buck around 9 a.m. in the Little River area of Randolph County.

ELKINS — West Virginia’s buck firearms season officially opened Monday as hunters took to the woods in search of a trophy buck.

The most popular hunting season in the state will run for two weeks and officially conclude on Sunday, Dec. 7. Hunters may harvest one buck with a base license, and must have purchased a Class RG or RRG stamp before the season in order to take a second buck.

Middle Mountain Sporting Goods owner Matt Higgins said check-ins for his store’s annual contest were a little slow on Monday morning, but expects things to pick up throughout the next two weeks of the season.

“We didn’t set the world on fire with people stopping by with deer this morning, but hunters have been bringing in a few,” Higgins said. “We probably had around 12 people bring deer by the store before noon, and I look for more to come in throughout the day. People are out moving around in the woods and many of them will be out there until close to dark.”

Higgins added, “Mast is good this year from the bottom to the top of the mountain, and I think you’ll see some good bucks killed this week. And I really believe the second week is going to be excellent because of the way the rut hit. There will be a lot of them (bucks) laying down this week, and next week they will be back on their feet.”

Hunters are reminded that they must wear 400 square inches of blaze orange when hunting in any county or area with an open deer firearms season. All hunters 15 years old and older are required to have a valid West Virginia hunting license, unless hunting under resident landowner privileges.

All bucks harvested must be field tagged and electronically checked online at WVhunt.com. This is also the first year that an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) can be used to track and locate a mortally wounded deer.

Since its inception in 1992, the “Hunters Helping the Hungry” program has facilitated the donations of more than 1 million pounds of deer meat to the state’s food banks.

The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources recently announced the return of the Big Buck Photo Contest. The contest is open to resident and nonresident youth and adults. Hunters who submit a photo will be entered into a prize drawing.

For more information on buck firearms season or anything else hunting or fishing related in the Mountain State, visit www.wvdnr.gov.